I stand somewhere near Dincrest; I was not blown away with this game, and much prefer Grandia II. The battle system in the latter was at least good as the first game(still one of the greatest battle systems around), and the story was much more intriguing, and the soundtrack more refined. The character expression and graphics in Skies was nice, but I never did manage to finish it. I'll be sure to borrow it from the person I sold it to and finish it someday, so who knows, maybe It'll be like getting skies branded on my brain for the rest of my life. But somehow I doubt it.

That's not to say I don't welcome a sequel. As long as it makes plenty of my RPGfellowers happy, it doesn't harm me in the least.

While Grandia II was a great game, it let me down in a big way. I hated the last quarter with a passion. I thought the story got so incredibly mellodramatic, not to mention the WORST and most unexplainable resurrection in the history of gaming, it completely destroyed it's dramatic integrity. By the ending, I just wanted to put my fist through the TV.

That said, the first 3/4 of the game was amazing: killer voice acting, great music (though I think SoAs soundtrack is just as good), great battle system, and quite nice dungeon design. It made me laugh, it made me cry, everything, perfect. But that last 1/4 really pulled it off my A list in a bad way.

But what made SoA so special for me was its sense of adventure. I could just explore that world for days and days, and just get lost in it all. It was so epic, so grand. It was also the first RPG I ever played (maybe the first ever made) that had a third person, Zelda view, where the dungeons were laid out like an adventure game. Some of the greatest dungeon architecture I've ever seen. Sure, the battlesystem wasn't as interesting, and the dialog was cheeseball, but everything else made up for it. I can't explain it fully, but I just love that game.

That said, the first 3/4 of the game was amazing: killer voice acting, great music (though I think SoAs soundtrack is just as good), great battle system, and quite nice dungeon design. It made me laugh, it made me cry, everything, perfect. But that last 1/4 really pulled it off my A list in a bad way.

Still, Grandia II is not the first to do that nor will it be the last. Too many JRPGs do that. I've been complaining about that left and right on the boards a lot lately. Doesn't completely negate the positive points I have about it, FFX, and others, but it definitely keeps them from being elite.

Objectively, Skies is the much better game. But it's not without room for improvement and I think a freshened battle system would be quite welcome in this sequel. Especially the ship battles. Those were dull. Beautiful to look at, but dull to play.

I know you guys are probably tired of me saying this, but Grandia II is my favorite RPG - and possibly my favorite game - of all time.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the story has some pretty severe problems. However, as Parn has often said, the presentation of a story can be as important as the story itself, and Grandia II, through its dialogue, its music, and especially its characterization - which, IMO, is absolutely unrivalled in video games - was able to present the story in such a way that, at least for me, every single event - even those which, as you all point out, are pretty awkward on paper - somehow manages to have the exact emotional impact on me that the developers intended - an achievement of which no other video game that I've played can boast.

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Take Millenia's death and ressurection, for example. It is absolutely correct - and possibly even an understatement - to characterize that particular plot development as awkward. Yet when Millenia died, I was deeply saddened, and when she was revived, I was overjoyed. I know I'm stupid for feeling that way, but I cannot help it.

So, suffice it to say that I love that game with a fanboyish intensity and am completely incapable of discussing it objectively or rationally. *bows head in shame*

EDIT: I think I might have set a record for the longest run-on sentence ever.

I agree with everything said here. After all, FF8 is my favorite RPG, and it has MAJOR flaws, especially in the plot midway. So, I know what you're talking about. For some reason, I was able to overlood FF8 and enjoy it immensely, but Grandia II, even though I loved it through and through, those plot awkward sections just took the wind out of my sails:

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Millenia's death, while cliche, was incredibly dramatic and heart wrenching, when she was brought back, instead of overjoyed, I just felt emotionally duped. Not to mention, killing off Millenia was a clean way of ending the love triangle. Their biggest mistake, though, was that after bringing her back, they refused to take responsibility of how the love triangle turned out, and completely decided to ignore it... even though they had made Ryudo and Elena's relationship a central part of the game, they just ignored it in the end, since it would gip Millenia. This pissed me off so much. I hated the ending.

The idea of a sequel to Skies of Arcadia forces me to actually post. I freakin LOVED Skies of Arcadia. You could pretty much take everything Prime said and just add "and Grim" next to it and we'll be all set. Sure, the battle system needs a little work, but there was so much greatness there, that I forget all about the wonky battles whenever I talk about. I remember one of the very first things that really worked for me was the perspective. It just felt different, and better, than other turn-based rpgs. The dungeons were wonderfully designed. The graphics were great. the music was perfect. Easily, one of my top 5 rpgs of all time. I LONG for a sequel. I actually agree with Prime about Grandia II as well. While the battle system was/is incredible, the game just fell apart after awhile. I've always considered it way overrated.

right on, man. Yeah, before SoA, I always wanted a turn-based RPG with the intricate dungeon design of a Zelda title, and SoA really was the first to do that. I think it really started something too, because every game started doing the 3rd person-close thing: Dragon Quest 8, FF12, Blue Dragon, etc. But still SoA remains the king of cinematic gaming, IMO.

But, be prepared for a great experience right now, I notice you're playing Tales of the Abyss. Not very cinematic, but killer characters and great plot elements, probably my favorite turn-based RPG of the generation this side of SoA.

I would absolutely love a sequel. I agree with everything Grim and Prime Mover has said, although I can see that the battle system will need a bit of work. But in terms of creativity, atmosphere and downright coolness, Skies of Arcadia wins.

Reading all this criticism of Grandia II's story makes me wonder, whether you guys have played Grandia III? Who ever wrote he wanted to punch the TV while playing Grandia II, must have felt compelled to kick the hell out of the poor TV set while playing Grandia III. After all, compared to Grandia III's sad excuse for a story, Grandia II's was almost Xenosaga-like.

By that I mean, I didn't see enough value in Grandia III to really get all that upset. I didn't even finish the game. The story was so obviously bad from the beginning, and the characters so cliche (except for his mother and the captain), that I could care less. When, after the first disc, mother and captain decided to leave the party, I knew that they had lost me.

So no, I didn't feel like putting my fist through the TV this time, I just quietly turned the game into a nice set of coasters.

Exactly. Wasn't that what Grandia eXtreme was for? Great battle system with no plot? Many of us avoided that one for the same reason, but at least Game Arts had the wisdom to name and market it appropriately. From low sales and commentary, they should have learned that one of the defining factors people play Game Arts games (Lunar or Grandia) is for great characters and dialog, of which both series have in spades (save the shoddy translation of the original Grandia), and G3 had neither.

I was thrilled to have a character with a parent involved, which is uncommon for the genre, and the grownup relationship (whether romantic or friendly) that was developing between her and the Captain was quite wonderful, but by cutting them out of the second half, they sliced off the only remaining non-cliche elements, and what was left was just your average, cheeseball adventure story with no defining characteristics, and a plot that took itself too seriously.

Eh, as far as I'm concerned the Grandia series has never been about good stories. Grandia 2 has the best story of the series, and even then it's a by-the-numbers RPG plot. But Grandia's always had a winner in the battle system. That's not enough by itself to carry an RPG (Grandia 3 has an incredible battle system, but the story and characters were lame), but it is one thing that can make or break an RPG for me, since I spend 85% or more of my RPG time in battle.

In any case, that sense of exploration is what people love about Skies of Arcadia. That's something everyone hopes will remain in the sequel. Combine Skies of Arcadia's sense of exploration with a Grandia-esque battle system and you'll have a winner.

I should say that Grandia II had great dialog. It's story was by-the-numbers. But it's characters were really strong and had great dialog. Same with the Lunar series. Grandia I could have, but we'll never really know because the translation was so mediocre. Great characters/dialog + great battle system pretty much ensure a good game, IMHO, even if the story sucks. Hell, most of the stories ever written, about anything, are all pretty much the same... it's HOW they're written, and how the characters are defined that are important. Grandia II had a lame story but good storytelling and great dialog. Grandia III had crap for dialog, not-as-good storytelling, and an even lamer story than GII.

Skies of Arcadia has a lame story and lame dialog, but decent characters, and it's non-verbal storytelling is AMAZING. The sense of adventure completely makes up for any shortcomings in both the story and the battlesystem. Also, the elements that were weak in SoA, it didn't take itself seriously with. I never got the impression that they were trying to create deep characters with complex dialog... so they succeeded in doing what they set out to do, and that's a good feeling. G3, on the other hand, felt like it was TRYING to create sophisticated storytelling, and fell on its face. I hate it when something tries to be more than it actually is.